Washing-machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. W. RHOADES.'

WASHING MACHINE.

N01. 295,943. 7 Patented Apr. 1, 1884. a

2 sheets sheet 2.

(No Model.)

J. W, R HOADES. WASHING MAGHINE.

No, 295,943. Patented Apr, 1, 1884;

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JAMES WILLIAM EHOADES, OF OHURUBUSOO, INDIANA.

WASHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent .No. 295,943, dated April 1, 1884,

ing-Machines; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a side. elevation of the machine with the tub in section; Fig. 2, aplan view; Fig. 3, a bottom view of the plungers; Fig. 4, a side view of the hinged arm; Fig. 5, a. perspective of the flanged plate detached from the plunger, and Fig. 6 a perspective of the supporting-frame; Fig. 7, an enlarged detail View of the clamping-clip and portion of the swinging arm, showing the recess in the latter. My inventionhas reference to pounder washing-machines, in which the plunger is also rotated; and it consists in certain improvements on the machine for which I obtained a patent August 29, 1882, No. 263,355, which improvements will be hereinafter particularly de-' scribed, and then sought to be specifically defined by the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the tub supported on a frame, B, and having a standard or post, 0, extending above its top, which post has a forked upper edge, in which is pivoted by a nutted bolt the swinging arm E. This arm is formed with recesses or grooves a across its side for the reception of guide-rods, and its lower end, below the pivotal point with the post, is beveled on its rear edge or face downward to its front face, and the front face above the point is pro: vided with a flange, b, which will strike against the front face of the post and prevent the arm from falling too far forward. In the fork of the post, below the hinged or pivoted arm, a pawl, D, is pivoted by a nutted bolt, so that its rear end or heel will fall by gravity and hang downward, thereby throwing upward its toe or catch end, so that it will fit over and bear against the point of the arm and keep it from falling backward. To the said Application filed August 10, 1883. (No model.)

arm, between its ends, thereis hinged the opcrating-lever F, which is connected to the arm E, as shown, by a bolt,passed through its end and a slot in the arm, so as to have an end adjustment. To the same arm, above and below the point of connection of lever F thereto, are connected two guide-rods, G, the same fitting into the grooves in the arm, and being held thereto by means of the clamping-clips a, one end of each clip being passed through the arm and screw-threaded for the application thereto of a nut, d, by means of which the clip can be drawn tight against the guide-rod, so as to clamp the same firmly to the hinged arm. If desired, both ends, instead of only one end, may be passed through the arm and nuts applied to both, and the grooves in the arm may be omitted; but the first construction is preferred. This connection of the rods to the swinging arm permits both rods to be adjusted longitudinally by loosening and again tightening the nuts; and thus the plunger-shaft may be moved toward the center of the tub when one size tub is substituted for another size. These rods G are intended to brace and guide the plunger-shaft, which is passedthrough loops at the outer end of both rods. The shaft H of the plunger I is passed through the lower rod, G, then through astirrup or shell, J, suspended from the lever F,

t then through a sleeve on, or slot or depression in, lever F, and then through the loop to the upper rod, G, and is free to rise and fall and to revolve. from the lever by means of a nutted bolt passed through the lever and through an upwardlyextending arm of the shell, fitting into a slot in the lever.

Within the stirrup or shell J there is a ratchet, K, which is secured to the plungershaft by a thumb-screw passed through a collar to the ratchet and into the shaft, or by other suitable means. The shaft is thus caused to rise and fall with a lever, and a pawl, L, pivoted to the latter, engages with the ratchet so as to slip over the ratchet-teeth when the lever is lowered, and to engage withone of them, and move the ratchet forward when the lever is raised, and by such means the shaft and its plunger are caused to make apartial revolution on each upward movement of the plunger. By thus rotating the plunger the The stirrup or shell J is suspended p the clothes are to be placed in or removedsame parts are caused to strike the clothes at a different point on each downstroke of the plunger, and the air made to act on all parts of the clothes, whence results a more effectual pounding and cleansing of the clothes. WVhen fromthe tub, the heel of the pivoted pawl is thrown upward, so as to release the arm,which is then thrown backward beyond a perpendicular and rested against the upturned heel of the pawl, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 1 of the drawings. If it is desired to throw the arm farther back, so as to raise the plungers higher, the heel of the pawl may be thrown down and the arm swung farther back. When the arm is to be raised to lower the plungers, the heel of the pawl falls by gravity,whereby the toe of the pawl is thrown upward and its beveled face struck by the beveled face of the arm, whereby the toe is depressed and the point of the arm passed behind it, after which the toe is again immediately thrown up in front of the arm by the heel falling, and it then prevents the arm from falling backward, and as the flange on the front of the arm strikes and bears against the front of the post it keeps the arm from falling forward, and thus by the joint action of the pawl and flange the arm is held in an upright position.

It will be observed that the pawl serves as a rest for the arm, and also acts to automatically lock the arm to the post when the arm is thrown forward. It is better than a springcatch, because it is not so liable to get out of order. The plungers I are in two parts, or made separate from each other, and are connected at their tops to a frame, so as to be adjustable to and from each other. The frame consists of a single bar, L, to which bar the plungershaft is secured by a bolt and'nut. The shaft may pass through a slot in the bar or be bolted to its side. The ends of the barL are slotted, and the threaded ends of rods or bolts M, which extend up from the top of the plunger pass through these slots, and nuts screwed onto the rods hold the plunger to the frame. The sides or edges of the cross-bar near its ends are serrated or notched, for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. By loosening the nuts and lifting the cross-bar and pushing the plungers one way or the other, they may be moved farther from or nearer to each other.

In order to prevent the plunger from slipping sidewise, I provide plates N, made so as to straddle and conform'on their under sides to the top of the plungers, and preferably cast with transverse shoulders or flanges e on their top faces, so as to afford a flat broad seat for the ends of the cross-bar L. These plates are also provided each with two pins or lugs, f, which are to fit into the notches or serrations on the sides of the cross-bar, so as to aid the clamping-nut in holding the cross-bar and plunger firmly together and prevent the plunger from turning. The plates N fit over the rods or pins M, and the nut which binds the plunger to the frame also clamps the plate to the plunger. Each plunger tapers on the inside from bottom to top, and is divided into several chambers, similarly tapering, by means of partitions P and Q.

The object of dividing the interior of the plungers into several chambers, tapering as described, is to compress the air into a small space, so that when the plungers are forced down onto the clothes the air will be caused to exert more pressure upon the clothes at different points than it would if the space were larger and the air allowed to expand therein.

An air-cell having openings at in its bottom and top, and tapering from top to bottom, is formed within each plunger by means of the partitions Q, which form one side of each of the air-chambers already referred to. air-chamber is filled with air on the down and up stroke of the plunger, and that air passing from the cell on the upstroke of the plunger equalizes the pressure by breaking the suction under the plungers, and permits the plungers to be easily raised.

The frame on which the tub rests is composed of the bars or boards 0 and D, set upon edge, and intersecting each other at right angles and braced, as shown, by the diagonally-set bars or boards E. The frame is provided with the legs F, as shown, and the post 0 rises upward from the point where the boards 0 and E meet each other. The boards 0 and D have holes made vertically through them, and are provided with the flanged slides G. These slides can be moved along the boards until they bear against the sides of the tub, and will be held to their adjustment by bolts H, passed through the slides and the holes in the boards, and by thumb-nuts I), screwed onto the ends of the bolts. By such construction the tub will be held firmly to the frame, and cannot slide from side to side.

Instead of the construction of supportingframe shown in Fig. 6, that shown in Fig. 1 may be used; but I prefer the former.

The function and operation of the several parts will be understood from the foregoing description, and therefore need not be repeated.

I reserve the right to claim==in a separate application the construction of the frame on which the tub rests.

Having fully described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is 1. In a washing-machine, the combination of a plunger and its shaft and lever for operating the shaft, longitudinally-adjustable guide rods for the shaft to move in, a supportingarm recessed for the reception of the guiderods, and provided at its lower end with a flange to engage with its supporting-standard, clips and nuts thereto for securing the guiderods to said arm, a standard to which said arm is hinged, and a gravitating pawl to engage with the end of the hinged arm, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a washing-machine, the combination of a plunger and its shaft, a hinged arm having its lower end tapering, substantially as This shown, guide-rodsconnecting the hinged arm andplunger-shaft, a standard to which said arm is'hinged, and a gravitating pawl pivoted to said standard and having a notch, substantially as described, whereby the tapering end of the hinged arm will strike against the head of the pawl and depress the latter and engage the notch of the pawl for holding the arm against movement in one direction, and means, substantially as described, for holding the arm against movement in the other direction, for

the purposes set forth.

3. In a washing-machine, the combination of a two-part plunger, a cross-bar for connecting the two parts having slotted ends and serrated edges, pins or lugs connected with the plunger to engage with the serrations of the cross-bar, aunt and bolt for clamping the crossbar to the plunger, and an operating-shaft conforth.

4;. In a washing-machine, the combination of a two-part plunger, a cross-bar connecting the two parts having slotted ends and serrated edges, flanged plates fitting to the apices of 25 the two-part plunger, and provided with cross flanges or shoulders to form a seat for the crossbar, and with pins or lugs to engage with the serrations of the bar, a nut and bolt for clamping the cross-bar, plunger, and flanged plate 30 together, and an operating shaft connected with the crossbar, substantially as set forth. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES WM. RHOADES. Witnesses:

CHARLES A. BowERsoX, EZRA E. BUHTQL; 

